


Pāpā o nga atua

by thelovelylydia



Series: A Hook and A Shell [1]
Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Demigods, F/M, Other, but like I want this to be apart of a myths collection, okay it's not really Hooked Wayfinder yet, sooooooo just hold on everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 11:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10740363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelovelylydia/pseuds/thelovelylydia
Summary: "Father of the gods". The people she has known her entire life begin to show their age, Moana remains constant. Her unending curiosity leads her to long-buried secrets that enlighten Moana to her true heritage, discovering that she and Maui may have more in common than she would have ever expected. SinaxTui. SinaxMC. (sliiiight Hooked Wayfinder if you squint hard)





	Pāpā o nga atua

**Author's Note:**

> So I really liked MatPat's breakdown of Moana potentially being a demigod (seriously...it's on Youtube...you should go watch it...) because a lot of it made quite a bit of sense...until he suggested that Maui was her father. Which, first off, doesn't make sense in the movie's timeline, and secondly I reject because I've totally fallen into the pit that is Hooked Wayfinder (oh this ship fits my trope so well!) so that wouldn't work well.
> 
> I also wrote this fict as a precurser to a series I kind of want to work on. I like that Disney reworked some of the Polynesian myths to create an entirely new story for Moana, and I think it demonstrates the really neat thing about myths- that they can change and stretch and grow based on the storyteller and the shifting points of view. (And let's be real, they definitely slaughtered the Greek myths FAR more than they did these ones). So I apologize for any cultural stuff I've messed up (because I'm from the Eastern part of the U.S.- far removed from the cultures represented), but I had a lot of fun playing and amalgamating the different tellings of the myths from the varying Polynesian islands (because each culture tells it just a smidge bit different!
> 
> So I hope that you like this new angle to Moana I've presented and the slight scandal I've applied to the Disney story!

Many years had passed before she first noticed that while the world shifted about her, she never seemed to change. She was constant, like the tides of the ocean, carrying onwards into time with a graceful fluidity that never seemed to show the scars of the many kisses of the salty breezes or the lines from squinting across brilliant waters to the horizon beyond.

If she had siblings, perhaps she would notice sooner. After all, she had matured over the years physically, even after her grand adventure across the sea. Her hips widening into generous curves, her breasts filling out the wrap about her chest, her features thinning ever so slightly as she shed the final traces of childhood.

But once she had reached her peak, it all seemed to stop.

She could blame the swirling tides of time bringing her demanding responsibility after demanding responsibility for not having realized how steady she had been while others showed their turns around the tides on the tapestry of skin. She had spent so much time focused on the needs of others, that she had forgotten about herself. The pressures of reacquainting her people with the art of wayfinding. The need to learn the duties to become a proper chief of a migrating people.

She could blame her often, and sometimes only companion, the demi-god she had encountered on her first grand adventure. Like she, he never seemed to age; his dark curls were as rich and brown as when she met him, not growing silver as the locks of her father were becoming. He remained agile and bright, weariness and aches far from his eternally youthful physique.

So much had filled Moana's mind that she had forgotten to compare herself to others. A notable trait, Grandmother Tala would approve, but one that struck her blind to the very reality of her identity.

It was not until one of her companions from the days of her childhood had grimaced when standing to greet her, her body weary from carrying several children in her belly and aching from the long days hunched over baskets and fires, that Moana realized that these groans of the body were foreign to her. The woman's face was still bright and cheerful, but the golden skin was creased with deepening laugh lines that danced about her cocoa eyes. Moana realized that this woman before her was both a familiar face and a stranger. The lines that marked the seasons of her life, like the tattoos that were beginning to fill Moana's arms and legs, told of stories of the life the woman was leading, where she had been. And the presence of those deep laugh lines told Moana that the life was a pleasant one.

The image took Moana back for a moment, her mouth hanging open wordless as she struggled with the juxtaposition that looked back at her with a sweet smile. She staggered for only a minute before she called the woman by her name and enveloped her in a charitable embrace. The two spoke of memories of old, holding hands like girls. Moana had laughed at the recollections, welled with tears on reminisces, and told the woman she longed to see her more often than time permitted her. The two bid farewell with gentle pecks on either cheek, the companion going off in search of her younger children.

The face continued to haunt Moana, tugging along the bottom of her thoughts like a bottom feeder as she carried out her daily duties. It was only when the moon arose in the sky and Maui's fishhook could be seen hanging like a jewel amidst the stars that Moana succumbed to her concerns and snuck down to the ocean of the island, finding a small outcrop that looked over a still tidal pool.

Moana looked down into the waters, seeing a young woman's face look back at her with wide caramel eyes, a small nose, and a full lipped grimace. Her fingers traced small crow's feet near her eyes, the dimples near her round cheeks, but aside from her laugh lines she saw no evidence that she had grown any older. She was approaching thirty years quickly, the time slipping by as she taught and encouraged and guided her people along with her father's help.

And yet…and yet she still looked the same as she did when she looked into the pool nearly ten years ago.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep, chief?" A deep voice startled Moana from her observations.

She looked over her shoulder, her hair falling in curtains about her waist as she brushed locks away from her eyes. "Maui," she said with a small chuckle.

The large demigod settled his massive body on the rock next to her, crossing his thick legs before him. He placed his hands on his knees. "You should get some rest. You're sending out another ship into the waters early tomorrow."

"I know," Moana said absently as she reached down to run her fingers along the surface of the still water. Her gaze lingered a moment longer before flickering up to meet the powerful being's beside her. "Maui."

He winced mockingly as a smile crossed his mouth. "I am not sure I like your words sounding ready to ask a question…"

Moana sighed, her gaze returning once more to the island. "Have I changed?"

Maui's thick brows rose as his mouth opened slightly. It dipped a time or two before he was able to collect himself. "Of course you changed, Mo. You were a confused little land-creature when I first met you. Barely even knew how to handle a boat, much less face off against an angered goddess in one."

Moana returned the observation with a wry glance. Maui shook his head as his shoulders raised, his palms facing upwards to signal he had nothing left to offer.

"No, I mean _me_ , the way I look," Moana pressed her hand to the middle of her chest as she looked down once more into the pool.

"Uh…well…I…" Maui's cheeks turned pink as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You certainly have grown more… _haapeu_ …"

"I understand I look less like a girl than when I first met you, but I'm nearly thirty! Certainly that must mean I have to change a little! Look like the winds have given me a time, account for the days when the sun has blistered upon my face harshly."

"No, Mo," Maui answered honestly. "You haven't aged since your village celebrated your twenty years upon the land." Moana nodded her head slowly, intently staring down her reflection. "Why do you ask?"

"I guess I should really know why I _haven't_ before now." Moana answered with a frown. "There isn't anything about me that I should know about…is there?"

Maui returned this question with another shrug. "How should I know? You're thirty, I'm over a thousand years old. I wasn't around when you were a little annoying ankle biter."

Moana heard his words, his repetition of his own age rubbing her thoughts raw as she shook her head. "It must be that I look young for my age, right?"

Maui grunted as he shifted onto his feet. "I wouldn't worry about it, Mo. Be thankful the gods gave you your beauty and worry about your wayfinders tomorrow." He leaned over to brush her cheek gently. "Though you are amazing, you are still just a mortal, and you need your rest. _Po pai._ "

" _A ki a koe_ ," she replied gently.

"Moana," Maui looked down at her with raised brows. "I'm serious. Sleep!"

"I will, I will," she waved him off, ignoring his presence as she turned to the water. He let out a heavy sigh before swinging his hook with a hearty _chee-oh!_ and flapping off into the starry sky on golden feathers.

Moana let loose a long exhale as she pushed herself to her feet, never losing eye contact with her shimmering reflection. Much to her annoyance, Maui was right— there was little use in wasting time pondering her appearance with all the tasks that needed to be completed. With one last exhausted exhale, Moana turned her head away from the water.

And met the shimmering eyes of her glowing grandmother.

"Granma Tala!" Moana exclaimed, her arms jutting forward to grasp the translucent arms of the spirit in front of her.

"Moana," the familiar raspy voice that said her name was a comfort to the woman. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead to the wrinkle forehead of her ancestor. "Why are you out here, child?"

Moana turned away from Grandmother Tala to look back the sea, her heart heavy. "I…I have had something stirring at the back of my mind and I needed the peace of the ocean to ponder it."

"You are your father's daughter," Grandmother Tala patted Moana's hand lovingly. Moana smiled sheepishly, her cheeks burning at the compliment.

"Thank you," Moana whispered. "But I am afraid that I doubt once again the very meaning of my existence. Who am I, Granma Tala?" Moana looked over her shoulder again to look at the stars above. "How can I see spirits? Why did the sea choose me, give me such powers? Who am I?"

Moana was surprised by Grandmother Tala's continued silence; the old woman was usually quick with a quip or a wise word. Instead, Moana turned to face a weary glance from the ghost.

"That," Grandmother Tala's voice was shaky, "that is a question for someone else. I cannot give you the answer this time, Moana of the Sea."

Moana shook her head. "Then who am I to ask?"

Grandmother Tala raised her hand, cupping the girl's face gently. "You are as much your mother's daughter as your father's— "

Moana's brows arched as she understood Grandmother Tala's instructions. "Will she know?"

The matriarch shifted, her full lips twisting into a grimace. "I think," she began after a heavy moment of pondering, "you should ask will she _tell_."

Moana felt her heart drop into her stomach as she searched Grandmother Tala's stoic face. "What— what do you mean? Is there something I have not been told?

"There is much you have not been told, child, as there is much that many have not been told. But it is not my secret to tell."

Moana groaned at Grandmother Tala's enigmatic response. "Fine, then I shall go and ask mother and she will have to tell me."

"Mind your temper, my riptide," the grandmother warned. "Else you lock the truth further away in her heart."

Moana watched as Grandmother Tala shimmered away, leaving her standing alone in the dark. With a determined grimace, Moana curled her fingers into fists as she returned to the _wharenui_ in search of her mother— and the answer.

* * *

The room was growing dim as the fire died out in the midst of the large hut. Moana found her father sitting about the dimming flame with several of his old friends from Motunui, their guffaws and slapping of the knees filled the room with merriment. Moana cleared her throat as she slipped through the leaf doors of the _wharenui,_ her caramel eyes alighting on her father. He met her gaze with a warm smile.

"Ah, my daughter! How wonderful it is to see you? But why that look of indignation on your fine features?"

Moana crossed her arms over her chest, growing impatient. "I am looking for mother."

"You have just missed her," Tui answered, standing and approaching his daughter. "She went out for a little peace and quiet." He embraced the woman in a hug, cupping his daughter's face as he pulled away. "I suppose me and the other men were a bit loud for the height of the evening."

Moana frowned, realizing her mother could be anywhere on the island— where was she to start looking? "You look troubled, Moana; is something the matter?" Concern lined her father's voice.

"No, uh, just, uh, womanly things, that's all!" Moana answered with a forced grin. The mention of 'womanly things' sent her father wheeling back toward his friends in mild embarrassment. He coughed before he spoke to her once more, his long cheeks pinkening.

"Yes, right, I will ask no more. Good luck finding her, Moana. She seems distracted this evening; I hope she doesn't find herself wandering into the ocean."

Moana let out a forced laugh at her father's jest, quickly exiting from the tent in the continued search for her mother. The questions continued to formulate without receiving answers. There were many places mother would go and none of them were of more importance or significance than the other.

Moana felt the familiar pull in her navel to head toward the waters. She scolded herself for considering that her mother would go out to the waters, she did not find the solidarity in the tides and waves that Moana did, but the call was too urgent. With a groan, Moana conceded to the instinct, retracing her steps through the village to the waters beyond.

* * *

Sina was found at the ocean, much to Moana's relief and confusion. Her mother was standing in the waters up to her knees, her arms crossed over her body as she looked out on the horizon beyond. Moana thought about calling out to her, making a joke about how her mother was stealing her meditation technique, but felt that interrupting such silence might be sinful. Instead, Moana dipped her toe in the water, adjusting to the flowing life force, before gliding into the moving ocean to stand by the woman's side.

Moana said nothing as she came to her mother's side, looking warily at the woman with stitched brows, wondering if perhaps the woman was alright. Sina continued to stare forward into the inky night sky, her eyes tracing the loops and twists of the constellations.

"I see you found me," she said after a moment, not turning her attention away from the horizon.

Moana ran her fingers through her hair, blushing as if she had just walked in on an intimate moment between lovers. "I…I confess I never thought I would find you here. You avoid the ocean just a readily as father…"

"Then how did you find me?" Sina tore her gaze away from the constellations to look at her daughter's bewildered face.

"I…I could just feel it."

"You are more like your father than you realize," Sina said heavily, her gaze dropping toward the small crests that lapped at her calves.

"You knew I was coming?"

A sigh caused her mother's shoulders to shrug, but she gave a curt nod all the same. "I knew it would only be a matter of time. And I thought I saw a glimmer on the horizon, as if a spirit was lurking nearby, the wings of a manta ray that your grandmother so loved to dance for. Tala always said if she were to return as a spirit, she would return as one of her beloved creatures." She returned her gaze to her daughter's worried glance, an impish smile crossing her mouth. "But we all know that mortals cannot talk with the spirits as they once were."

Moana's brows twisted at her choice of wording; she sidled closer to her mother as she looked out to the horizon toward the shape of Maui's fishhook. "Mother, I am afraid I do have a question for you."

Sina dropped her head again, looking at her daughter out of the corner of her eye. "Then ask it and do not be afraid."

"Why am I so different?" Moana held her hands out before her, looking at the palms, flipping them over, squeezing small fists. "Why have I not aged? Why did the ocean choose me? Why can I do this?" Moana waved her hand and a crest of seawater swelled in kind.

"Because of your father, Moana."

"What do you mean?" The woman asked, searching her mother for answers that seemed so far away. "What did father do to give me this gift?"

"Not Tui, Moana," Sina's eyes shut tightly.

"What do you mean?"

"May I tell you a story?" Sina turned, her hand reaching out to clutch her daughter's wrists. Moana looked down at the fists and then up to her mother.

"If you must."

"Come, sit," her mother pulled her down into the ocean, sitting cross-legged as the surf now tugged at her ribcage. Moana joined her, warmed by the water that now hugged her closely. "Once," her mother's gaze lingered back on the horizon, "once there was a chieftain, who was desperate for a child…"

* * *

_Once there was a chieftain who was desperate for a child. He and his wife had been trying for many moons to bear a son, a baby who would carry on the proud lineage of his parents, but all means of having an heir had been exhausted and the two were losing hope that the gods would ever bless them…_

"Tui, perhaps I should go to the shaman; he can give me something to drink, a potion." Sina insisted as she looked at her handsome husband's weary face.

The two had been trying for years to conceive a successor, ever since Tui had been given the Chieftain headdress by his father, but had remained unsuccessful in bearing children. Sina had been blessed by the gods with a full belly twice, but the baby had ripped its way into the world before its time, dying in her hands as she mourned the hopes and dreams she had for the child.

"Sina, I think it is best we leave the matter to rest. We have tried all that we could, and if Haumea has decided not to bless us with a child, then what more can we do? If the gods will not grant us what we ask, we must accept their decision. We are mortals, Sina, and we have no business demanding from the gods."

" _Please_ Tui, we _must_ try!" Sina begged, pulling at her husband's arm. "What will happen if we do not succeed?"

"The family name shall die with me and a new successor will take the crown," the man touched the headdress above his head with a small frown. "You may pray all you like, Sina, but I am afraid that we have done something to anger the gods and we are bearing the consequences."

Sina watched as Tui turned toward the door, making his way down the stone steps to the main path of the village. She sank to her knees, covering her tear streaked face with her hands as she wept anew at the heartache that seemed to strangle her.

_The wife of the chieftain was not one to give up easily. Against her husband's orders, she went and met with the shaman. The man told her that she would need to do more than to pray to the gods— she would need to make a sacrifice in the hopes of appeasing one of them. If she were able to win the affections of one of the Ancients, perhaps he or she could speak to the other gods, incline Haumea's ear toward their suffering._

_So the wife went to work preparing a sacrificial offering for the gods. She collected piles of fruit, taking only the most perfectly shaped and flawless of the harvest, spreading the food out on palm fronds. She created incense to burn in empty coconut shells; she took her most prized necklace adding it to offering._

_After a week of collecting the items to be offered as a penance for whatever she and her husband had done, the wife slipped out into the night with the palm fronds piled high with goods, making her way to the lagoon on the far side of the island. This place was forbidden, as water not meant for fishing was seen as dangerous. The wife knew that she would be safe and secret in this cove; all would be too scared of the waters to look for her there._

Sina's heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to balance the pile of fruit on the palm fronds, hoping that the burning incense in the coconuts would not slosh about and light the fronds on fire. Perspiration was trailing down her back and her forehead as she neared the waters she had been forbidden and forbade others for approaching.

 _But this is my only hope; this is what the shaman told me_ ¸ she thought desperately as her toes hit the sandbar about the calm waters.

Sina gently lowered the palm fronds into the sea, pushing the mass off to float on the still ocean. She spread her legs shoulder width apart and raised her hands about her head. Slowly, she began a somber _hula kahiko_ , singing softly a prayer of apology and reverence as she danced in the moonlight.

She continued in her rhythmic hand movements, hip rotations, and spins long into the night, focusing on the words as she continued in her admonition to the gods to hear her words. So intent was she on the placement of each gesture and footstep that she did not hear the sound of the waters moving in a great splash. It was not until she felt the hand on her shoulder that she realized she was no longer alone.

She gasped in fright as she dropped the graceful movement of her dance to behold the stranger who pulled her from her reverent pleas. A man stood before her; he was tall and well built, his body rippling with muscle as he stepped back to look at her. His stern face was covered in the swirls, dots, and edges of a tattoo. Brown eyes narrowed as he looked at her face, his dark curly hair falling over his shoulders as he shifted his arms to cross them over his burly form.

"And who is this, presenting sacrifices and dancing for the gods?" The man spoke. Sina felt her heart pound in her chest as her cocoa eyes widened, her mouth dropping open as she searched for words. Finding none, she dropped to her knees before the man instead, pressing her forehead to the ground. "And who am I, an unworthy one, speaking with?" She murmured, her body on fire with mortification.

"I am the sea itself, Tangaroa," the god said as he looked down at the woman with a cocked head. "And who is calling upon the gods, may I ask once more?"

"It is I, Sina, the wife of the chieftain of Motunui," Sina replied, realizing that her body was shaking in fright.

"Stand, Sina of Motunui," Tanagaroa commanded. The woman hastily scrambled to her feet, brushing away the sand that stuck to her sweaty legs and hands. She refused to meet the gaze of the deity. "And why do you sacrifice to me, Sina?"

"I needed a god to hear me," Sina clenched her trembling hands together, trying to keep her voice calm as she explained her intent. "I…my husband is in need of a successor…a _child_ …and I am afraid I have bore him none."

The god let out an amused laugh. Sina peered through the curtain of her hair to see that his fists rested on his hips as he reveled in her begging. "Well, Sina of Motinui, that is a problem, is it not? Are you hoping that I will speak to Haumea, that she will give you a child?"

"If it would please you, Mighty Tangaroa."

The god's fingers wrapped about Sina's chin, pushing her face upwards. His dark eyes searched her features, a smile crossing his mouth. "I am afraid I cannot do that, Sina. You see, I am rather angry with the Motunui."

"What can I do to appease that temper, O Great One?" Sina pressed her hands together before her chest. "Please, I am desperate!"

Tangaroa cocked his head once again as he examined the woman's wide eyes, her clenched praying fists. "I think, Sina of Motunui, that you want a child in your arms as desperately as you want to give your husband an heir." He smirked when Sina was unable to protest his accusations. "But there is little you can do to appease my temper. I am angry because the Motunui are no longer sailing the seas; they are destroying my pods of fish, they are allowing other islands to go untamed as they over-cultivate this one," Tangaroa shook his dark locks. "And the vegetation on the other islands and this one is starting to die because of Te Fiti's ire. Which was caused by Maui stealing her heart. You see, Sina of Motunui, this is a very tangled web that cannot be undone with sacrifices and reverent _hulas_. I am afraid I must remain mute toward the great Haumea."

Sina lunged forward, grabbing hold of Tangaroa's arm as he proceeded to return back to the still waters behind him. She burned red as his dark eyes narrowed once more as she lunged at him. " _Please_ , there must be some way I can fix a part of this…"

Tangaroa was moved by the desperation that clearly lay behind the woman's eyes. His mouth turned into a hard line as he pondered how she might even possibly be able to help solve a problem created by a troublesome demigod.

Unless…

"There is one thing," Tangaroa said. "But you will not like the bargain I am going to bring to you."

Sina stepped closer, her glossy eyes indicating she was willing to listen. Tangaroa felt a cruel smile cross his mouth at the thought of the release he might indeed encounter this evening.

"You will have a child, Sina of Motunui, but she will be _my_ child." Tangaroa frowned when Sina gasped, her hands covering her mouth as she slowly shook her head. "My anger burns too deep to speak with Haumea; this is your sole option, Sina of Motunui."

Sina's head twisted to look over her shoulder, back toward the lights of the village that flickered far in the distance, like fire insects in the warm summer air. She turned her gaze back to Tangaroa, knowing that she would need to agree to this arrangement if she wanted any hopes of having a child in her arms. "I will…I will please you as best I can." She stepped closer to him.

"That is not the end of my bargain, Sina of Motunui," Tangaroa reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, his thumb touching the soft skin at the base of her neck. "You will have my child who shall then go out to restore the heart to Te Fiti."

"How am I supposed to explain this to my husband?" Sina shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. "He will not believe me as it is! He will have me thrown into the ocean!"

"Say nothing to your husband, then. Lay with him after you've lay with me, assuming you are still interested in a mortal's touch," Tangaroa grinned proudly at the thought of turning her tastes away from man's capability to make love with his godlike ferocity. "You do not need to explain his fate. My child will know when he is called," Tangaroa interrupted her protests. "You must simply let him go."

Sina remained quiet for a moment, thinking over the deal the god had presented to her. She knew that such a choice would be deceptive, but could it do much harm if both she and Tui were getting what they wanted? And this was a god, after all, not some mere mortal she was throwing away her loyalty to.

And she could bear the Chosen One who could catch the wily Maui so that Te Fiti and order could be restored to the dying earth.

"I agree," Sina nodded her head, her hands going to the knots of piupiu. Tangaroa's hand stayed her fingers.

"I am so glad you do," he smiled as he wrapped his arms about the curve of her waist, his mouth crashing into hers.

_And so the chieftain's wife conceived a child with Tangaroa, the god of the sea, in the quiet lagoon that night. She returned to her husband's whare later that evening and lay with him, too, so that her deception could be covered thoroughly. All rejoiced when the wife's belly grew with a baby. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl; a demigoddess who appeared normal, who had nothing about her traits that indicated she was anything more than mortal. But she was a girl who heard the call of her father at a young age, who was always chasing the swells of the tides. And the day came when the girl was no longer and a young woman stood in her place. The time had come for the daughter of Tangaroa to return to her father and fulfill her fate._

* * *

"Is that why you let me go when you found me in the _whare_ that evening gathering food?" Moana's voice was soft over the growling surf.

Sina nodded her head, sniffing back tears. She had not looked at her daughter since she had begun the very true and very personal legend.

"Does Tui know?"

Sina shook her head. "I couldn't tell him. I didn't have the heart. Not after seeing the love he had for you the moment you were born, how he scooped you up in his arms and rocked you to sleep. He never understood why you loved the sea so fondly, but I knew." Sina's eye closed as she drew her knees to her chest. "You probably hate me now, Moana, for hiding the truth."

Moana placed her hand on the swell of her mother's back. "No, mother, I do not hate you. I understand why you did what you did." Moana let loose a heavy sigh. "But it does answer so many of my questions," her fingers twirled in the crests of the waves with new understanding. _Hello, my father_ , she thought morosely.

"I should have told you sooner, Moana." Sina turned to her daughter, her hands splashing beneath the waves to support her body as she leaned toward the woman. "You would have known the truth. You know that you cannot be a chieftain now; you know you have a much greater destiny."

"But how can I leave the people of Motunui?" Moana looked back over her shoulder toward the beginnings of the path toward the village. "This is my _home_."

"And it shall always be." Sina answered her. "But I think it would be selfish to keep you from a greater destiny. From crossing the expanse to do amazing things. Your friend Maui gave us coconuts and islands— what can you give us, Moana the Chosen One?"

Moana remained quiet as the thoughts swirled about her mind. Was that why, though she loved her island and her people, she always felt the urge that she was missing something more? Was that why she and Maui seemed to understand each other well?

These were thoughts that she would need to unravel oanother day. For now, she had a bigger burden to dissect. She stood from the water, the remnants of the sea dripping from her skin and her piupiu. Sina looked up at her daughter as she stood.

"Could you…could you please explain to father that I cannot be there tomorrow for the wayfinder's send off?"

Sina struggled to her feet, her dark eyes searching her daughter's face. "Of course, Moana." She reached out to grab hold of her daughter's hand. "But where shall you be?"

Moana looked down the shore where several silhouettes of boats bobbed in the waves. "I think I need some time to think."

Sina took her daughter in her arms, placing a kiss on her cheek as she ruffled the girl's hair. "I am sorry, Moana."

"No, mother, don't be," Moana shook her head. "I just need…I just need some space and I need to be with the sea." _With my father_ , Moana winced at the intrusive thought, but could not bring herself to say the title aloud.

Sina sniffed as she nodded. Moana let go of her mother's hands, turning to walk toward the shore. She said nothing more to the woman as she headed down the beach toward the boats in the distance. She would need to grab some supplies before she left, but the thought of going back into the village with the knowledge she now possessed was too painful.

" _Chee-ho!"_ A voice rang out in the night. The _thud_ of feet landing next to her caused Moana to jump toward the side. The hulking frame of Maui joined her on the path. "Where're you off to, princess?"

"I'm afraid I'm not a princess," Moana's gaze swept the ocean tides. "I'm much more than that."

"Oh yeah?" Maui chuckled.

"Seems you're not the only demigod around anymore," Moana answered as she continued forward toward the boats.

"What…you mean?...how? Who?" Maui scratched his head as he slung his giant hook over his shoulder.

"My mother," Moana inclined her chin toward the sea. "And Tangaroa."

"Oh, that is one bad god to be messing with. I should know." Maui's hand thumped his chest. "And now I see a whole new side of you…"

"Well, don't," Moana answered morosely. "I'm still the same me…I _think_."

"You have to admit it does answer a _looooot_ of questions…"

"And creates an entire ocean of more," Moana groaned. "Maui, can you do me a favor."

"It depends," Maui answered, feigning disinterest. She knew his detached answer was only a façade and he would do all that she asked of him. It was a weakness she noticed a few years prior and one that she did her best to try not to exploit— too much.

"I need to go off, to be alone for a time," she said as she continued to walk. "I can't bear to go back to the village right now— is there any way you, Maui, shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea, hero of men and women, could get me some supplies and bring them to me out beyond the surf?"

"I may be able to pick something up in my spare time," Maui's eyes narrowed. "Are you going to do something crazy, Mo? Because, if you are, you shouldn't leave me behind."

"I merely said I wanted time to think," Moana answered him. "Not that I needed to be alone the entire time. Besides, your expertise on being a demigod for your entire life might come in handy."

"Now you're talkin'!" Maui whooped.

"So that means you're going to bring me some supplies?"

"I think that can be arranged." Maui shrugged.

"Thanks, I owe you this one," Moana answered as she looked at her hands. "Maybe if I harbor some special power I can use it to repay you sometime."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Curly. You may be a demigoddess, but I doubt you'll be as great as Maui." Maui answered her haughtily. Moana swooped her hand through the air causing a wave of water to rise and drench Maui, covering his face and hair in salty ocean. He deflated at the act.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, semi-demigod?"

"I may have to rethink my agreement after that one, Moana of Motunui."

"I'll make sure my dad continues to cause you to sink," she replied with a grin. Maui made a face at her before waving his hook with a _chee-hoo_ and gliding off into the air as a golden eagle more once.

Moana let out a heavy sigh as she smoothed back her hair, and then began a jog toward her canoe in the distance.

**Author's Note:**

> And there you have it! I'd love to know what you think! Please leave a review if you've the time, and if not and you still enjoyed the story, think about favoriting/kudo-ing/or bookmarking this! Thanks so much!


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